(SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Feb. 4, 2013) SUNY Empire State College’s School for Graduate Studies today announced the launch of Credit Where Credit is Due: Veteran and Service Member Pathway to the MBA.

Supported by the GMAC Management Education for Tomorrow (MET) Fund’s Ideas to Innovation (i2i) Challenge, the program's overall goal is to ease veterans' transition into civilian business leadership.

Credit Where Credit is Due offers a specialized MBA course specifically designed to serve veterans transitioning to civilian life and business leadership.

“Access to Empire State College’s outstanding MBA program is not enough for our veteran and service member students. The new Credit Where Credit is Due program does two things: It provides course work to help veterans and service members translate their leadership and management skills to civilian life and awards graduate credit for what they have already learned,” said Acting President Meg Benke. “Credit Where Credit is Due strengthens SUNY’s education pipeline by saving veterans time and money and by enhancing their job and career prospects. At the same time New York capitalizes on the investment made in service members and veterans and gets a better educated workforce sooner.”

As part of the program, the college also awards graduate-level credit toward an MBA for relevant military training based on American Council on Education credit recommendations for military training and occupational specialties that are relevant to civilian business leadership.

"With our expertise in evaluating work and life experience for college credit, adding more graduate-level options for earning credit for what our students already know is a logical next step for the college. Doing so on behalf of our deserving veterans and service members is an added bonus,” said Tai Arnold, acting dean for the college’s School for Graduate Studies.

“Empire State College continues to provide the very best programming possible for veteran students and by adding their new Credit Where Credit is Due initiative for MBA candidates, the College has once again set a higher standard for educating America’s warriors,” said Colonel (Retired) Jim McDonough, senior fellow for veterans affairs at the New York State Health Foundation and past director of the New York State Division of Veterans Affairs.

Through its Office of Veteran and Military Education, the college assists veterans, service members and their families gain access to all of the education benefits, including tuition and financial aid, they have earned as part of their service to the country.

The college’s OVME has partnerships with all branches of the military dating back to 2000 and has been named a military friendly institution by leading publications year after year.

The college also hosts a counselor from the New York State Division of Veterans’ Affairs at its office in Saratoga Springs bringing the college’s and the state’s services together.

The college’s new program expands the college’s offerings specifically tailored for the military. In November of 2011, the college began offering a new Graduate Certificate in Veterans Services, which is designed to provide professionals with additional education and skills to meet the needs of veterans in accessing available social services such as health care, education, employment and housing.

The college’s School for Graduate Studies offers master's degree programs in business, education, policy and liberal studies as well as several advanced certificates. Graduate students take courses online and in some programs students work with faculty and other students face to face in study groups or weekend residencies, which are similar to conferences and seminars.

About SUNY Empire State College

SUNY Empire State College was established in 1971 to offer adult learners the opportunity to earn associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the State University of New York.

In addition to awarding credit for prior college-level learning, the college pairs each student with a faculty mentor who supports that student throughout his or her college career. Students engage in guided independent study and course work onsite, online or a combination of both, which provides the flexibility for students to learn at the time, place and pace they choose.

The college serves more than 20,000 students worldwide at more than 35 locations in New York state and online. Its 66,000 alumni are active in their communities as entrepreneurs, politicians, business professionals, artists, nonprofit agency employees, teachers, veterans and active military, union members and more. More information about the college is available here.

About GMAC® and the GMAT® exam

The Graduate Management Admission Council® (www.gmac.com) is a nonprofit education organization of leading graduate business schools and owner of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT ® exam), used by more than 5,400 graduate business and management programs worldwide. GMAC is based in Reston, Virginia, and has regional offices in London, New Delhi and Hong Kong. The GMAT exam—the only standardized test designed expressly for graduate business and management programs worldwide—is continuously available at nearly 600 test centers in over 110 countries. More information about the GMAT exam is available at mba.com.

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